A fully functional Digital Single Market would bring many benefits to European businesses and consumers. It would promote innovation, contribute EUR 415 billion to the EU economy each year and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. As it relies on the cooperation of national public administrations, coordinated EU action is required. On 6 May 2015, the European Commission adopted an ambitious strategy to complete the Digital Single Market.

Actions outlined in the strategy

Many actions outlined in the Digital Single Market Strategy are essential for the European internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The actions include:

Parcel delivery

Fast and efficient parcel deliveries are essential for a competitive e-commerce market. However, high costs, lack of transparency and the inconvenience of cross-border delivery of parcels ordered online are still limiting e-commerce, growth and jobs in the sector. To improve parcel delivery services in the EU, the Commission has already cooperated with the industry and other stakeholders with a self-regulation exercise that was concluded in June 2015.

In the Digital Single Market Strategy, the Commission will:

take action to improve regulatory oversight while supporting innovation and ensuring a level playing field for operators

address the issue of price transparency, including prices of small shipments. This action should support mainly consumers and small businesses. A comprehensive assessment of the situation will be carried out after two years to see if further action is needed.

E-commerce

E-commerce is transforming the retail sector. However, many consumers and retailers, especially SMEs, are unable to take advantage of it.

Different sets of rules for shopping and selling online discourage potential consumers from buying goods and services across borders. This also hinders access to new markets for entrepreneurs. In a recent survey 57% of companies said that they would increase their sales to other EU countries if the same rules applied throughout the EU.

In the Digital Single Market Strategy, the Commission proposes to allow sellers to rely on their national laws, further harmonising the main rights and obligations of the parties to a sales contract. The new approach would:

ensure that traders in the Internal Market are not deterred from cross-border trading by differences in mandatory national consumer contract laws;

provide consumers with a higher level of protection and give businesses greater freedom.

European platforms

Platforms play a central role in the digital ecosystem. They structure online activity by acting as intermediaries between consumers and businesses. This brings benefits to SMEs, who often face difficulties in making themselves visible online, and to the economy as a whole. European platforms can thus become a driver for growth and jobs.

The market power of platforms can also be disruptive, undermining the transparency and fairness that are needed in the Single Market. As platforms generate and control enormous amounts of data, this raises questions about how this data should be handled.

More information is needed before the Commission decides on possible action. The Commission will therefore launch an assessment of the role of platforms in the digital economy. It will focus on:

how platforms work;

the types of platforms that exist;

how they affect businesses – in particular B2B relations - customers, and the economy.

Collaborative economy

The 'collaborative economy' refers to business models offering new ways to provide and use services through online platforms. It covers many sectors, including passenger transport and accommodation, and involves three categories of actors: services providers who share assets, resources time and skills; users of these services; and online platforms which ;match providers and users.

The collaborative economy enables a more efficient use of resources and provides new opportunities for Europe to create growth, jobs and benefits for consumers. In 2016, a Eurobarometer poll showed that more than half of all EU citizens know about the collaborative economy, and one person in six is already a user. But from the public policy perspective there is a need to address obstacles and regulatory uncertainties that can hamper the growth of new business models.

Geo-blocking

Geo-blocking refers to practices used by online sellers that result in denial of access to websites based in other EU countries. It limits the choice of consumers and undermines their confidence in the Internal Market.

While geo-blocking may be necessary in certain cases to comply with legislation or be the result of restrictions imposed by suppliers, unjustified geo-blocking as a commercial practice amounts to consumer discrimination. The benefits of acting against geo-blocking are clear:

increased price transparency;

more competition in cross-border e-commerce;

greater availability of products for consumers.

The Commission intends to put an end to geo-blocking for commercial reasons and similar techniques, except for cases of well-defined exceptions. The Services Directive already prohibits discrimination of consumers based on their country of residence, both in the online and offline world. For instance, travellers asking for the same product should not face prices differing according to their country of residence.

'Big Data'

The last years have seen an enormous growth in the amount and availability of data. This goes beyond personal data to data generated in machine-to-machine or business-to-business interactions. This 'Big Data' makes predictive analysis much easier and more accurate. This in turn leads to more confident decision-making, greater operational efficiencies, cost reductions and reduced risk. As such, Big Data offers huge opportunities for new industrial, commercial, entrepreneurial and innovative activities, and could be a massive boon to the European economy.

The conditions need to be right for this data to be collected, stored, transmitted and analysed. Businesses need to be clear about who owns the data at any point. The data also needs to be open and accessible to businesses who can make innovative and productive uses of it, rather than restricted to a few.

The Commission will be analysing the problem as part of a 2016 initiative and will address the issues of ownership, interoperability, usability and access to data.

Standards and interoperability

Machines and devices using new technologies create great opportunities for businesses to provide new services. However, these machines and devices need to be interoperable, or there will be barriers to cross-border business. Such interoperability will also allow businesses to mix and change suppliers and thus have more choice. Standardisation in key areas would greatly help this interoperability, without reducing innovation.

The Commission will need a standardisation plan to identify and define key priorities for standardisation with a focus on new technologies and domains that are critical to the Digital Single Market. It will also promote the use of these standards through public procurement.

Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement

Europe needs creative and innovative businesses. Those businesses need to know that their innovation will be protected. The Commission is therefore going to make legislative proposals before the end of 2015 to:

reduce the differences between national copyright regimes;

allow wider online access to works by users across the EU.

An effective and balanced civil enforcement system against commercial scale infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR) including copyright is central to investment in innovation and job creation. In addition, the rules applicable to activities of online intermediaries in relation to IP-protected works require clarification, given the growing involvement of these intermediaries in content distribution. Measures to safeguard fair remuneration of creators also need to be considered to encourage the future generation of content.

In 2016 the Commission will propose to modernise the enforcement of IPR, focusing on commercial-scale infringements (the 'follow the money' approach) as well as its cross-border applicability. These proposals will include the modernisation of the enforcement of IPR.

E-government

Many citizens and businesses embrace the possibilities of digital technology and expect the same kind of online experience from the public sector. This is often not the case. Authorities are expected to:

provide user-friendly information online

digitise procedures as much as possible and make them accessible to cross-border users

re-use information provided by citizens and companies as much as possible, including in a cross-border context.

The Commission presented a new e-Government Action Plan in 2016. The Plan puts forward 20 measures to be launched by the end of 2017, notably:

set up a Single Digital Gateway (adopted in May 2017) to help citizens and businesses make the most out of the Single Market. The gateway will help them to find information, assistance and problem-solving services, and complete key administrative procedures online. It is also one of the first steps in the implementation of the 'once-only' principle.

set up a pilot project (launched in January 2017) with administrations that will apply the 'once-only' principle for businesses across borders. This means companies will only need to provide paperwork to public authorities in one EU country, even if they also operate in other EU countries

help EU countries to develop cross-border e-health services such as e-prescriptions and patient summaries